Any day now...
Christians have been predicting the apocalypse is any day now pretty much from its start,
Jesus
We only have Jesus' words filtered through the hands of the gospel writers, but I strongly suspect he expected the apocalypse to be just days away.
Here is Jesus' advise for his followers:
Mat 6:25 “For this reason I say to you, [q]do not be worried about your [r]life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? 27 And which of you by worrying can add a single [s]day to his [t]life’s span? 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But [u]seek first [v]His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be [w]provided to you.
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will [x]worry about itself. [y]Each day has enough trouble of its own.
This is just plain stupid... Unless the world is about to end. If the world is going to end in days or even weeks, then planning for the future is a waste of time. Dedicate yourself to making peace with God, rather than saving money for the future.
I would suggest this was Jesus' big message. The apocalypse is coming, sort yourself out so you are ready for it when it comes.
... Still waiting, Jesus.
Paul
Paul expected Jesus to return within his life time, and makes that clear.
1 Cor 15:50 Now I say this, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does [u]the perishable inherit [v]the imperishable. 51 Behold, I am telling you a [w]mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised [x]imperishable, and we will be changed.
Two groups of people:
- The dead, who will be raised ("the dead will be raised [x]imperishable")
- The living, who will be changed ("we will be changed")
He considered himself in the second group.
See also here:
1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.
1 Corinthians 7:29 But this I say, brothers, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; 30 and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; 31 and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the present form of this world is passing away.
1 Thessalonians 2 19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?
2 Thessalonians 1:7. And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2 Thessalonians 2 1-2. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
Mark
The Gospel of Mark was written around AD 70, a tumultuous time, and it must have seemed to some the apocalypse was happening, with the destruction of Jerusalem.
So we read the prediction that the end of the world will be while at least some disciples are still alive.
Mark 13:28 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So you too, when you see these things happening, [r]recognize that [s]He is near, right at the [t]door. 30 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. 32 But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
That said, another interpretation is that the generation that witnessed the destruction mentioned earlier in the chapter will still be alive.
Earlier we read:
Mark 13:14 “Now when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be—[i]let the [j]reader understand—then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
It is curious that supposedly Jesus is addressing the reader at this point. In reality, of course, this is the author putting words in Jesus mouth.
The "abomination of desolation" references Daniel 11-12, where it likely refers to gentiles forcing their own rituals in the temple, and stopping the usual sacrifices. Although presented as a prophecy in Daniel, it references a historical event by Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 167 BC, and the book of Daniel (or at least the the second half) was written as a reaction to this event.
The verse in Mark is likely very similar. It is presented as prophecy, but in fact was written shortly after the event it refers to - some sort of desecration of the temple, during the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. And just as in Daniel, so Mark goes on to predict the apocalypse just a couple of years later.
The second part of the verse may reference the "Flight to Pella", but conversely the "Flight to Pella" could be a myth based on this verse (or they could be unrelated).
Matthew
Matthew 10:23 "When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes."
This could be understood to be Jesus saying he will catch up with them in a mundane manner, just by walking faster! More likely, this is a prophecy that the end times would be before the disciples could visit each of the cities between them. I am not sure what counted as a city, but it cannot be that big a number.
Matthew 16:27–28:For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
Matthew 26: 63, 64 “But Jesus kept silent and the high priest said to Him, “I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Jesus told his follows to leave their families and their work; the apocalypse is any day now so focus on that and that alone:
Matthew 19:29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[a] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.
John
By the time John was written, about AD 95, the disciples had all died, so the prophecy was dropped from the narrative.
Other Epistles
1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.
On the other hand, others were making excuses because it had failed to arrive.
2 Peter 3:3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”
Old Testament
Prophets and what-have-you have been predicting the imminent end of the world for centuries before Jesus was even born.
Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the Lord is coming,
Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
To make the land a desolation;
And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash their light;
The sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light.
11 So I will punish the world for its evil
And the wicked for their wrongdoing;
I will also put an end to the audacity of the proud
And humiliate the arrogance of the [d]tyrants.
Also here, supposed to happen shortly after Antiochus death in 164 BC (see here for more), three years after the book was written:
Daniel 12:1 “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting [a]contempt. 3 And [b]those who have insight will shine like the glow of the [c]expanse of heaven, and those who [d]lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
More recent
Too many to list here, but see Wiki.
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